M2 Tech, the Italian hifi manufacturer that brought us the well received hiFace S/PDIF output interface and the Evo DAC, have introduced the hiFace DAC, an async 2.0 USB 384/32 DAC.

Details

The hiFace DAC includes: asynchronous data transfer mode on USB 2.0, compliancy to USB 2.0 Audio Class (no drivers needed for MacOS, IOS, Linux and Android), very low phase noise oscillators and last-generation conversion IC capable of 384kHz and 23 bits.
Windows users will enjoy it in Direct Sound, Kernel Streaming, WASAPI and ASIO (depending on the OS version), while Mac users will be able to take advantage from Integer mode and Direct mode.
While the hiFace DAC output is purposely designed to give its best with amplifiers’ and preamplifiers’ line level inputs, it may also be used to drive medium- and high-impedance headphones.

15 albums in nearly 20 years. So is the celebrated career of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds. Their last offering Dig, Lazarus, Dig!! was released in 2008, but sating Cave appetites between the aforementioned and this release was the energetic Grinderman project which was a veritable adrenaline rush compared to most of the (impressively prolific) Nick Cave discography.

Hanging around from Grinderman is Warren Ellis (The Dirty Three), and also returning is Barry Adamson who played in The Birthday Party waaaaay back in the day and has also performed with The Bad Seeds in the past, but Mick Harvey is notable in his absence.

Cave’s music has long been regarded as somewhat depressing and morbid. These sentiments are fairly accurate for the most part. Most of his catalogue is hardly music you’d play to get a party jumping…besides Grinderman of course. More »

An electronic project featuring Thom Yorke of Radiohead and Flea of The Red Hot Chili Peppers named after a speech by Dwight Eisenhower? Hmmm….

This is the debut effort from Atoms For Peace (the band, not the speech, although the speech’s ’53 debut is not to be sniffed at!).

Of course, based on the appearance of Thom and Flea alone, many punters will be falling over themselves to snatch the cd from its record store display, then struggling to open the bafflingly robust plastic prophylactic sleeve, before accidentally stabbing their finger with scissors and damaging the cardboard cover in the process. Unavoidable really. More »

SVS who design, manufacture and sell subwoofers and loudspeakers through its internet direct business have announced the appointment of Jack Travis as director of global sales. Travis is a 30+ year audio and consumer electronics industry veteran who will play an important role with SVS as the company expands global market share and U.S. retail operations.

“Jack Travis will be an immediate asset to the SVS brand as we continue to tap into new domestic channels and launch audio products worldwide,” said Gary Yacoubian, president and managing partner for SVS. “Having worked with Jack in the past, I can’t say enough good things about his work ethic, business acumen and other professional abilities. His passion for audio also makes him a perfect fit for SVS since our entire culture centres on getting people to appreciate the benefits of great sound without breaking the bank.”

Mr. Travis boasts an 18-year career at the Harman Consumer Group where he worked his way up to vice president of sales for Harman Consumer Group Brands. He has also served in senior sales management roles at Monster and Velodyne.

Accessory specialist, Just Mobile, has announced its new headphone stand, the HeadStand. Engineered from aluminium, the HeadStand’s dual-layered base features a storage space for the headphone cable – keeping things tidy and untangled.

Origin Live have announce the upgrade of their MK 2 turntables to MK3 after over 5 years. The new turntables look pretty much the same as the old ones but have “significant performance improvements”.

Improved features over previous MK2 models are:

New type of Acrylic platter material with reduced internal stresses.
Increased thickness of platter due to changes in overall design.
New Bearing hub designed for faster energy transmission.
Lower friction bearing.
Increased size of plinth for improved aesthetics and stability.
Improved power supply.
New belt Material now hand made.
Quieter motor from additional pod damping.
The Aurora MK3 now includes the upgrade platter mat.

Canadian manufacturer Coincident Speaker Technology have announce their first stereo integrated amplifiers, the Turbo 845SE and the Dynamo 34SE (Pictured).

The Turbo 845SE is constructed as true dual mono in every way with the only shared component between the two channels being the chassis. The Turbo is built on the same chassis as the company’s current Dragon MK II amplifier.

Specifications:
Single Ended 845 Output- 28 watts per channel

Pure Dual Mono

All hard wired

6N copper Japanese Steel proprietary power and output transformers

6EM7 input , 300B driver per channel

3 RCA inputs

Discrete Resistor volume control

Voltage selectable 115V/230V

AC ground lift

Remote control volume- mute.

Frequency response: 20 hz- 20khz – flat

Sensitivity: 1V for full output

Input impedance: 100 K ohms

S/N Ratio- 90 db

Weight; 100 lbs

Price :$5499 US

The Dynamo 345SE is a single ended triode tube amplifier that offers 8 watt pre channel.

Celebrated in 1987 for its unique design by the New York Museum of Modern art where it was displayed, the Goldmund Apologue loudspeaker stands as a major milestone in Swiss high-end audio brand Goldmund’s history.

25 years later, Goldmund is paying a tribute to this extraordinary product by issuing a Limited Series of 25 Goldmund Apologue Anniversary with an exactly identical design, but with all the technological advances made by the company over the last 25 years.

The 1987 edition of the Apologue was a 3-way passive speaker. The Apologue Anniversary comes with twice as many drivers and built-in amplification totaling a whopping 3600W per pair.

To this extreme power, Goldmund have added the latest signal corrections developed by their “Goldmund Fundamental Research” department.

The signal feeding the Apologue Anniversary is sent wirelessly, so the 2 speakers of a stereo system can be set up without any cable, except for an AC plug that can be installed below the speaker.

Buyers can require a specific finish that they can select with Goldmund Custom Shop experts who will also install the pair of loudspeakers anywhere in the world and tune them precisely to the customers room.

The Apologue Anniversary price has been set slightly over half a million dollars and can be ordered with a deposit of $60 000.

Our latest in the series of Behind the Brands interview is with Laurence Armstrong who is Managing Director of Henley Designs who are one of the largest independent hifi distributors in the UK and supply such renowned brands as Pro-Ject Audio, Ortofon, Audio Technica and Roksan.

“Laurence Armstrong is Managing Director of Henley Designs Ltd, one of the largest independent hi-fi distributors in the UK. Henley Designs was formed as the result of a management buyout of Ortofon UK in 1997 and they now supply UK retailers with some of the world’s most recognizable hi-fi brands, including Pro-Ject Audio, Ortofon, Audio-Technica and Roksan.” More »

Hifi Pig is supporting Red Nose Day and we’ve added a banner to the site which you can click on and be taken through to the Red Nose Day website where you can make a donation …or you can click here.

If you don’t know about Red Nose Day … It’s been 25 years since Red Nose Day first burst onto the BBC’s screens and this year, once again, the nation is gearing up to put on their Noses, pull out all the stops, and get fundraising

The money you raise is used to transform the lives of countless people, both in the UK and across Africa.

A colourful variety of music awaits the visitors to this years Munich High End Show. Here’s what will be on offer to the visitors.

Werdenfelser Alphornbläserinnen
Thursday 9th May 2013 from 9.30 to 17.00
Entrance to hall 4 and the entire exhibition area

The High End Show opens in a traditional way with some original, alpine music. “Werdenfelser Alphornbläserinnen” is the only female German alphorn group and are also known as the “Spice Girls of the Alps”.Lady Taxi
10th May 2013 to 12th May 2013 from 12.00 to 17.00
Throughout the exhibition area this female band “Lady Taxi” guarantees a real feast for the eyes and ears. This mobile female band takes the visitors to Munich High End Show on a musical journey from rock ‘n’ roll, to film music, swing, jazz, music from the 70s, 80s, 90s and today’s hits. They play live, moving around with their saxophone, songs, percussion and guitar.

Dean Peer & Bret Mann
10th May 2013 and 11th May 2013 at 13.00, Atrium 4, 2. OG, Studio E/F
Dean Peer is an exceptional virtuoso electric bass player who enjoys international recognition for his skills in his use of bass harmonies. Dean’s latest recording “Airborne” is a duet with the drummer Bret Mann. It was released in 2010 by ILS Records in cooperation with Cardas Audio. This successful album also achieved acclaim in the top 40 radio hits in the USA and Canada and was nominated for the “Annual ZMR Music Awards” in 2010.

Chord Electronics has upgraded its Standard Series power amplifiers to MkII status. The upgrade introduces improvements taken from the Reference Series to a more affordable line up.

Four models have been updated: three stereo power amps and one monobloc. The revisions have been implemented to the following stereo models: SPM 1200MkII (350 watts); SPM 4000MkII (480 watts); SPM 5000MkII (500 watts), plus the SPM 1400MkII monoblock (480 watts).

On the outside, the new MkII models sport a new front-panel design and rear connector plate, featuring new British-designed, heavy-duty, gold-plated insulated speaker terminals. The new rear connector plate also enables third-party power connectors to be used.

On the inside include: a new power-control and sequencing board for simpler operation and better visual indication; refinements to the filter components to ensure greater high-speed performance and overall stability; plus a plethora of circuit board and earthing changes to improve high-current power flow. Driver circuitry improvements have also been implemented, “giving a faster overall response and improved high-frequency response”.

Bryston, has announced the introduction of a complete line of loudspeakers for both music and home theater applications. The line will consist of eight models including the floorstanding Model T, Middle T and mini t along with a powered subwoofer called the T sub, two center channel offerings, an in-wall and an on-wall loudspeaker.

“I think we met with a degree of skepticism when we first announced the loudspeaker project—and rightfully so. There are a lot of speaker companies already in the marketplace,” reported Bryston’s James Tanner. “But we set out to create an affordable reference quality loudspeaker and went to great lengths to achieve an end result that separates us from the competition—we are confident that these products will be quite well received,” Tanner concluded.

The top of the range Model T Active will retail at $9495 whilst the Model T will retail at $6495. The Middle T will be $4600 and the mini t $2695.

Acoustica, the Chester (UK) based Hifi retailer has contacted Hifi Pig to let us know about their upcoming show on
Saturday 16 March & Sunday 17 march 2013 where they’ll be taking over the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel a stone’s throw from their premises.

Brands exhibiting will be Naim, B&W, Classé, Arcam, SIM2 Projectors, Audiovector and Kudos with the show being the North of England launch for a number of new and exciting products including the Kudos Super 20 loudspeaker and the Naim DAC V1 D to A Converter & NAP100 Power amplifier – Naim will also be showcasing their impressive Ovator 800 flagship loudspeaker.

One of the many highlights of the show will be from Audiovector who will be promoting their top of the range R11 Arreté Loudspeaker (Pictured) which will be partnered with a relatively high end Naim system – HDX, 252, SuperCap DR, and NAP300.

We’re also told that there’ll be a great vinyl front end provided by a Rega RP8 and so you are invited to bring along your tunes.

Here we have our latest Behind the Brands interview, this one with Thomas Scherer of TSAE who make the interesting and innovative looking transmission line loudspeaker the Evince which we mentioned way back in April of last year.

Thomas Scherer of TSAE answers our questions and we find what makes the MD and creative force behind the brand tick.

You can find the full list of interviews with the names and faces behind well known and less well known hifi brands on the main page for our Behind the Brands series of interviews

Thomas Scherer is the Managing Director and chief creative force behind the German loudspeaker manufacturer Thomas Scherer Audio Engineering. TSAE make just two loudspeakers at the moment, the striking and very contemporary looking transmission line Evince and the more conventional looking sealed box loudspeaker Elation. More »

With only three months to go, T.H.E. Show Newport, now in its third year, is predicting another successful event and is expecting to sell out of exhibit space early. Currently, occupancy levels are exceeding 2012 figures.

Richard Beers, President of T.H.E. Shows Newport and Las Vegas, anticipates that 2013 will be another year of tremendous growth for the biggest West Coast Consumer Audio Show and commented “we couldn’t do this without the great support of our exhibitors and the abundance of serious, curious high-end audio buffs. We had over 7,500 attendees last year; with increased advertising, networking, social media, and simple word-of-mouth enthusiasm, we expect to increase that number significantly.”

Music

Nonstop entertainment for all! Concerts included with the entry fee will be held Friday and Saturday starting at 6:30 p.m. Mike Garson, jazz legend and pianist for David Bowie, among many others, will perform once again, joined by Tierney Sutton (Friday) and six-time Grammy nominee, Nnenna Freelon (Saturday).

The Atrium Hotel courtyard will offer continuous live entertainment during the day—poolside will be the place to be. In the evening there will be DJ entertainment at the Poolside Bar, and not to be missed will be the vinyl and headphone exhibits in the expanded ballroom.

T.H.E. Show Newport will be held at the Hilton Irvine and Atrium Hotels in Orange County, California, May 31st and June 1‑2, 2013—the weekend following the Memorial Day Holiday. Opening Day is Friday, May 31, beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 1-2, T.H.E. Show will open at 10 a.m. Exhibits are open till 6 p.m. daily, with continuous entertainment.

“Nobody listens to a whispering fool. Are you listening? I didn’t think so. I’ve been quiet as a church house mouse. Tiptoeing everywhere I go…”. So goes the introductory lyric of opening track “Bombs Away”, and a poignant notion it is. Eels have indeed been quiet for the last few years.

Wonderful, Glorious is somewhat of a milestone for Mark “E” Everett; Eels mastermind. It’s the band’s 10th full length album….the first being the classic Beautiful Freak way back in ’96. Since then, Eels have not quite reached the same heights. Dismissed cruelly by many as a poor man’s Beck, E has been languishing in relative obscurity for the past decade or so. Blinking Lights and Other Revelations was a step in the right direction, but highlights have been few and far between.

Latest Album Review

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